Monday, May 7, 2007

One cannot scale the ranks of the Democratic establishment without selling out to Washington insiders, and presidential aspirant Barack Obama is quite adept at playing the game. Since announcing his candidacy in early February, Obama has raised millions of dollars from corporate fat-cats and multinational corporations. While the young candidate has leaned heavily on law firms to which he has professional connections -- he’s also not been afraid to dip in to the trough of Big Business. And it’s a sure sign Obama is a real contender for his party’s nomination. When Howard Dean’s campaign began to gain momentum during the 2004 elections, the former Vermont governor had not flipped through his party’s corporate black book, and instead relied heavily on the grassroots to provide fuel for his presidential bid. The party’s elite, nervous and unsure that Dean could be one of them, taught the naïve doctor a harsh lesson: the establishment quietly sacked Dean for America because he had not accepted the way business is done in Washington.

There's no question that industry loves Barack. As of March 31, UBS, the second largest bank in Europe, has given over $165,000 to his campaign. The Exelon corporation, which is the nation’s largest nuclear plant operator, has donated almost $160,000. The investment Goliath, Goldman Sachs, has also fattened the pockets of Barack Inc. with over $143,000. Citigroup has given well over $50,000 with Morgan Stanley close behind at $40,000. Wall Street has Obama’s back.

About Us

No One is Illegal-Vancouver is a grassroots anti-colonial immigrant/refugee rights community collective with leadership from members of migrant and/or racialized backgrounds.
As a movement for self-determination that challenges the ideology of immigration controls, we are in full confrontation with Canadian border policies; denouncing and taking action to combat racial profiling, detention and deportation, the national security apparatus, law enforcement brutality, and exploitative working conditions of migrants. We stand in solidarity with indigenous struggles against colonization across Turtle Island and also place ourselves within the broader movement for global justice struggling against capitalism, homophobia, occupation, patriarchy, poverty, war, and other systems of oppression and exploitation.

No One Is Illegal - Vancouver

Our educational work involves furthering an anti-imperialist, anti-war, and anticapitalist analysis that links the "War on Terror" abroad to the racist "Fortress North America" at home. We struggle for the right for our communities to maintain their livelihoods and resist war, occupation, and displacement, while building alliances and supporting indigenous sisters and brothers fighting theft of land and displacement. Our work is carried out through various strategies including public awareness events, direct support work with refugees and undocumented migrants, multilingual community political/legal forums, fighting back through rallies and direct actions, and ongoing campaigns and projects.